I’m tinkering with a new theme. Whaddya think? Yes, I know the links on the side are dead at the moment. If I can add the header images back and update the sidepage tabs I might just keep it.
OH, and if you use an openid login, please try it and see if it works.
*update – people seem to be having trouble with the comments AND the design so back to the old one for now.*
I’m tinkering with a new theme. Whaddya think? Yes, I know the links on the side are dead at the moment. If I can add the header images back and update the sidepage tabs I might just keep it.
OH, and if you use an openid login, please try it and see if it works.
*update – people seem to be having trouble with the comments AND the design so back to the old one for now.*
So in anticipation of my changing schedule, [1]It changes the weekend of the 10th. I’m already altering my gym routine. The last time I was on a 4-10 shift, I really struggled to keep up with a consistent work-out schedule. I’m hoping to prevent that this time around. Instead of working muscle groups, I’ll work 1 primary muscle a day (along w/supporting muscles). I’ll also increase the frequency of days in the gym to make up for the shorter workouts. I’m hoping these two changes will help me cope with the lack of free time on work days. *crossed fingers*
For all my setbacks this year, I have done a decent job of keeping to a consistent schedule. The motorcycle accident set me way back but I managed to bounce back. The one good thing from the accident is I managed to get myself into doing more cardio. It has paid off as I’m a tad leaner than I’ve been in about 8 years. [2]Nothing major but I certainly don’t mind the 15 missing lbs
And for all my bitchin’, I am looking forward to the 3-day weekends again. Especially, since I’ll have Fri/Sat/Sunday’s off. It is a premium slot and I am grateful I could pull it. I’m thinking Friday’s will by errand days. Typical shit. Lunches for the next week, chores around the house, beat off, blah blah blah…
So in anticipation of my changing schedule,1 I’m already altering my gym routine. The last time I was on a 4-10 shift, I really struggled to keep up with a consistent work-out schedule. I’m hoping to prevent that this time around. Instead of working muscle groups, I’ll work 1 primary muscle a day (along w/supporting muscles). I’ll also increase the frequency of days in the gym to make up for the shorter workouts. I’m hoping these two changes will help me cope with the lack of free time on work days. *crossed fingers*
For all my setbacks this year, I have done a decent job of keeping to a consistent schedule. The motorcycle accident set me way back but I managed to bounce back. The one good thing from the accident is I managed to get myself into doing more cardio. It has paid off as I’m a tad leaner than I’ve been in about 8 years.2
And for all my bitchin’, I am looking forward to the 3-day weekends again. Especially, since I’ll have Fri/Sat/Sunday’s off. It is a premium slot and I am grateful I could pull it. I’m thinking Friday’s will by errand days. Typical shit. Lunches for the next week, chores around the house, beat off, blah blah blah…
I’m hoping everyone had a good Christmas today. Or, happy holiday, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or whatever floats your boat. Be grateful you are alive and have a roof over your head. For many this year, things are a bit blue with the economy so bad. And while there is obviously hope for the future, it is hard to be optimistic when you aren’t sure where you next meal might come from. If you are reading this, I’m sending you well wishes and warm fuzzy feelings.
Beyond a very peculiar occurrence yesterday morning it was a pretty uneventful day. The day started with a flurry of text messages from friends and family exchanging holiday wishes. Knowing the gym was closed, I laid my ass in bed until the desire for food finally forced me outdoors.
While I’m walking down to the ‘hood to get some grub, I did have a very odd experience. I’m crossing at the crosswalk when a giant suburban pulls up, the guy whistles and asks directions to the nearest hospital. Being a typical control freak, I couldn’t just answer. lol I asked what the emergency was as it might change his destination. [1]Pediatrics, cardiac, burns, blah blah blah… He seemed very reticent so I volunteered that I was an EMT. At that point, his face beamed and he spilled his guts in a flurry of parental worry. It seems his 20 year old daughter (sitting in the back) was experiencing…wait for it…wait for it….are you ready…anal bleeding. OH yes, you read it right. I admit I was a little surprised. Of course, I had very negative thoughts but seeing his whole family piled in with him and no signs of emotional distress, any ideas of foul play quickly evaporated. I spoke to the young lady and discussed the problem. She was more embarrassed than anything, not that I blame her. Anyway, after some questions and more assurances, I was confident she wasn’t in immediate danger and directed them on their way. I walked away almost laughing at the oddity of the situation. Seriously, what are the odds? I was still giggling as I woofed down my lunch and headed back home to get ready for work.
And how was your holiday?
References
| ↑1 | Pediatrics, cardiac, burns, blah blah blah… |
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I’m hoping everyone had a good Christmas today. Or, happy holiday, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or whatever floats your boat. Be grateful you are alive and have a roof over your head. For many this year, things are a bit blue with the economy so bad. And while there is obviously hope for the future, it is hard to be optimistic when you aren’t sure where you next meal might come from. If you are reading this, I’m sending you well wishes and warm fuzzy feelings.
Beyond a very peculiar occurrence yesterday morning it was a pretty uneventful day. The day started with a flurry of text messages from friends and family exchanging holiday wishes. Knowing the gym was closed, I laid my ass in bed until the desire for food finally forced me outdoors.
While I’m walking down to the ‘hood to get some grub, I did have a very odd experience. I’m crossing at the crosswalk when a giant suburban pulls up, the guy whistles and asks directions to the nearest hospital. Being a typical control freak, I couldn’t just answer. lol I asked what the emergency was as it might change his destination.1 He seemed very reticent so I volunteered that I was an EMT. At that point, his face beamed and he spilled his guts in a flurry of parental worry. It seems his 20 year old daughter (sitting in the back) was experiencing…wait for it…wait for it….are you ready…anal bleeding. OH yes, you read it right. I admit I was a little surprised. Of course, I had very negative thoughts but seeing his whole family piled in with him and no signs of emotional distress, any ideas of foul play quickly evaporated. I spoke to the young lady and discussed the problem. She was more embarrassed than anything, not that I blame her. Anyway, after some questions and more assurances, I was confident she wasn’t in immediate danger and directed them on their way. I walked away almost laughing at the oddity of the situation. Seriously, what are the odds? I was still giggling as I woofed down my lunch and headed back home to get ready for work.
And how was your holiday?
The marriage of convenience and technology in my household is now complete. I got a nice surprise the last time my Tivo downloaded a system update. Netflix! It has only taken 3 years to finally come to fruition but it is finally here! While the selection is currently a bit limited for downloads, [1]you can still have movies unavailable for download mailed to you but that is so 90’s. the quality is on par with standard def. TV broadcasts. Surprisingly, when they say “watch instantly“, they mean it. I’ve watched about 10 movies so far and every single one started within minutes and played thru to completion w/o pausing or hanging on the download. Fast forwarding is a bit slow to start and stop but not unexpected for on-demand content.
Of course, I’ve been able to stream Amazon movies thru the Tivo for about a year now. The Amazon service is quite different though. For one, Amazon charges by the movie vs a flat monthly fee for unlimited downloads. Amazon’s downloads also take quite a bit longer as the content is uncompressed and not optimized for streaming. Usually, for a 2 hour movie, I have to wait 30-45 mins before I can begin watching if I wanna watch all the way thru w/o the movie pausing. To be fair, Amazon does have a much larger selection of movies for download. However, if they hope to compete, they’d better get their act in gear because I can easily see Netflix kicking their ass soon.
I have yet to try HD content as I’m still streaming over a 54g wifi router. You need a hard line connection or the newer N speed wifi routers to really stream HD content seamlessly. I’m sure as the availability of movies increases, I’ll spring for faster wifi.
Once the selection improves, it will also give cable companies a run for their money. Seriously, imagine having almost any movie or TV show ever made available to watch instantly for a low monthly fee. No more exorbitant cable bundling fees to worry about. No more getting stuck with 100’s of channels you don’t watch just to get a few you do watch. If I were the cable companies, I’d be shitting in my pants about now. Of course, they’d still make money on primetime channels, first-run content, and broadband so their money stream isn’t totally screwed just yet. That said, I’ll quickly dump all of my movie packages once Netflix boosts their downloadable content.
Yes, I know, I’m a geek. But you knew that already.
References
| ↑1 | you can still have movies unavailable for download mailed to you but that is so 90’s. |
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I’ve gotten several emails, comments, inquiries as of late regarding my lack of blogging. Besides being extremely busy at work, the simplest answer is I just haven’t felt like it. It seems to be a trend as I’ve noticed many of my regular reads have slacked off lately as well.
For my part, I’ve always catered to the idea that blogging shouldn’t be forced. Forcing it often leads to resentment which defeats the whole purpose, IMHO. Never fear, I haven’t given up and this blog is NOT closing, not even close. I still have tons to say and lord knows I have an opinion about everything.
On the flip side, I’ve met several new people thru my blog as of late. Not 1, not 2 but 3 guys have come forward as regular readers who rarely comment but wanted to meet. The first guy has apparently been reading for years and only just recently decided to see if I was up for meeting. [1]He lives locally We had dinner and got to know each other a bit. He got to see my tattoo the very same day I got it. Anyway, dinner was nice and I enjoyed it. The 2nd guy was totally looking to get laid. [2]I obliged him several times. *EG* The 3rd was a bit odd. I got the distinct impression he was testing to see if my blog was real. His questions sounded more like accusations than interest. He seemed to give up at one point after several “discrepancies” he pointed out were nothing more than perception. I was secretly amused at his persistence and annoyance that he couldn’t trip me up. He also discovered how blunt I can be when he asked questions I felt were inappropriate. I doubt he’ll continue to read.
I’m always curious as to what inspires someone to come forward to meet after waiting so long. I see myself as a very approachable and clearly I have no problem being open. The irony here is I often get way more private emails than I do posted comments. In talking with other blog buddies, I seem to the exception vs the rule in this arena. I still haven’t figured it out but it doesn’t really matter. I’m still flattered every time someone new “pops up”. I don’t see my life as all that exciting to be honest. But having grown up in the middle of nowhere TX, I can relate on the perceptual differences. lolol
Thanks for all the kudos on the tattoo. I appreciate it. I go back on the 2nd for the color and shading. I’m still extremely excited about my tattoo. Considering it is permanent, I guess that is a good sign. lol The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is eager to see the final look. *hint – so am I.*
As for work, I got a little embarrassed yesterday. The #2 guy in the fire dept. chain of command came by to personally thank me and shake my hand. [1]To be clear, he was there for other reasons but took the time to seek me out. I don’t always take compliments well. And to have the #2 guy personally shake my hand was a bit unnerving and daunting. hehehe He was clearly sincere and gave me a great honor by telling me to call him by his first name instead of sir. If you are familiar with military and/or para-military organizations, that is almost unheard of. I didn’t expect it but I quickly recovered and promptly picked my jaw up off the floor.
References
| ↑1 | To be clear, he was there for other reasons but took the time to seek me out. |
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Monday night was probably one of the most stressful of my career. I’m basing that on the knots in my stomach and the bottle of wine I consumed after work. [1]Yes, you read it right, Mr. Light-weight downed a bottle. In a nutshell, a circuit panel blew out in our building and a full two-thirds of our system(s) went down in the blink of an eye.
As part of our ongoing reconfiguration, I am currently detailed to the Fire/EMS side of operations. At the direction of the RC, [2]the highest ranking medical officer on duty I quickly ran down the hallway and setup one of the few functional terminals. Within minutes, I had a summation of everything going out and coming in. Let me clarify that statement. Instead of being in charge of one channel focused on a section of the city, I’m now in charge of 5 channels encompassing the entire city! No pressure right? No, not at all. lolol Anyway, with the help of my co-workers and others I managed to bang thru it. I don’t think I did anything exceptional as frankly, it is my job but whatever. The work itself wasn’t overly taxing but I just couldn’t shake the awful feeling some calls might have fallen thru the cracks. There was no way to stop and check and I was too busy at the time to worry beyond the present. There was easily a 10 minute window between when the system went down and getting it back up. Meanwhile, call-takers are still trying to input calls into the terminals that did not go down. I know I bitch and moan at times about the crazy public but, I take my responsibilities very serious. It bothered me thru the whole ordeal and all thru the night afterwards.
The system came back up just in time for me to get off on time. [3]Ironic huh? I left relieved but I tossed and turned all night worrying some calls might have slipped thru the cracks. I personally felt like we failed the public that night. There is a silver lining here though. After polling all the terminals yesterday, we discovered there was in fact no lost calls. Everything got handled. A huge relief, I don’t mine telling you.
Yesterday, we were on a patchwork system which apparently went down again mid-day (prior to my shift). My shift went off without any problems. Parts are being flown in to create a permanent fix from what I’ve been told. There is also a redundancy system being added to hopefully avoid such a catastrophe in the future. I shudder to think what would have occurred had this happened on a busy night like New Year’s Eve. And I could go the rest of my career and not have to do that again and be completely happy.